


The Moon Rests In The Eyes Of Its Beholders

by Moon_Blitz



Category: Kamen Rider V3
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-17 00:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12353913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Blitz/pseuds/Moon_Blitz
Summary: The moon remains a constant in a life full of uncertainty. Yuji Joji's life happens to be more uncertain than most.





	The Moon Rests In The Eyes Of Its Beholders

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oryx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oryx/gifts).



> Title taken from a haiku by Basho.

The Moon Rests In The Eyes Of Its Beholders

“Where have you been living?”

 Joji looked up from his book, surprised by Kazami’s question. “At nearby boarding and guest houses,” he replied after a moment. He had moved frequently since escaping from Destron, worried that the organization would track him down if he stayed in one place for too long. Tachibana had offered him a place to sleep, but Joji had declined, not wanted to endanger the man any further than he already had.

 Kazami let out a murmur of acknowledgement, not turning away from the radio panel. They were on standby in the HQ at the back of Tachibana’s shop, waiting for Destron to inevitably reappear.

 “Stay with me.”

 “Pardon?” Joji asked, not quite trusting what he had heard.

 “Stay with me,” Kazami repeated, fiddling with the controls. “I have plenty of room.”

 “I couldn’t possibly-” Kazami swung his chair around, his hard gaze stopping Joji mid-sentence.

 “It’s too dangerous to be on your own! What if Destron finds you in the middle of the night?”

 “It’s even more dangerous if I stay with you and they find us both!” Joji argued back, unwilling to admit that he had been thinking the same thing. “And besides-” he cut himself off, looking away.

 “And besides what?” Kazami prompted, tone indicating that he wasn’t about to let the matter drop. Joji set his book aside and leaned forward, fingers digging into his artificial hand.

 “And besides, aren’t you concerned that I’ll attack you in your sleep? I haven’t been very...reliable...since leaving Destron.” He hated that he still felt some loyalty towards Destron, despite everything they had done to him.

 Kazami sighed and was silent for a minute. “You’ve changed in the short time you’ve been here, Yuki. Tachibana trusts you not to give this hideout away, and I trust you to not do anything while I sleep.” Joji frowned at his words, feeling both frustration and gratitude. He he really changed that much? Was he really worthy of Kazami’s trust?

 “I’ll think about it,” he said at last, meeting Kazami’s gaze again. The man nodded, seemingly satisfied, and turned back to the radio panel.

 - - -

A week later, he was stretched out on a futon in Kazami’s living room. Destron had attacked late at night, and Kazami had insisted Joji sleep at his place for the night rather than try and find a room somewhere. Joji had tried to say that he would be fine on the couch, but Kazami had brought out a futon despite his protests, so he had used it in the end.

 Joji raised his right arm, staring at it in the dim moonlight that filtered through the curtains. His colleagues had done a good job given the limited resources they had available, but his lower arm and hand was still metal and plastic. Here, in the dark, it was hard to tell that it was fake, but one touch of the cold, smooth metal would be enough to dispel that illusion. Kazami’s body was built better, but then again, he was a full cyborg. Joji was barely a fifth of one. He dropped his hand with a sigh, feeling the impact of it hitting the futon run up his arm, the synthetic nerves interacting with his own in near perfect harmony. Imperfect. Incomplete. Neither human or cyborg. A traitor of Destron yet not a fully realized Kamen Rider. No wonder Kazami was still wary of him.

 Joji rolled over onto his side, gaze sliding towards the door that led deeper into the house. Was Kazami crouched behind it, waiting for Joji to betray his trust? Or was he asleep upstairs, and the closed door merely a holdover from when his parents and sister still lived in the house? The house was probably livelier then, but he could never know. Raised alone and taught by tutors, Joji could never know the normal life someone his age should have lived. And it would be meaningless to ask Kazami, for it would just remind him that Joji had helped create the monster that took his family from him.

 Rubbing his face with his left hand, he pulled the blanket higher. It was late and he needed sleep. He could think tomorrow.

 - - -

From the moment he had received the New Year’s card from Destron, Joji had known things would probably end like this. It was a fitting end to one raised by a demon like The Great Leader and corrupted by science. Despite everything, he hoped he had made Kazami proud. His friend, his partner...the man he had come to love, only realizing it far too late.

 The Pluton Rocket shook around him, sending him and the inevitable explosion it would cause farther away from Japan with every passing second. The first two Riders had done something similar to save Japan from an nuclear explosion in the past, so Joji was simply following in their footsteps. At last, he was living up to the Rider part of the name Riderman.

 A glance at the gauges showed he was far enough out to sea that little damage would be done. Holding up the detonator switch, he declared, “Witness the last of Riderman, Yuki Joji!” Perhaps V3 was watching, having already defeated Marshal Armor. He threw the detonator switch to the floor, crying out in pain as shrapnel from the explosion hit him. Fire quickly followed, licking up the walls and spreading across the control panel with terrifying swiftness. Still, he kept his grip on the controls, wanting to maximize the distance between him and the land. He felt the rumble of the explosion before he heard it, and had a brief moment of weightlessness before everything went black.

 - - -

Night after night, he lay on his mat, staring at his right hand as the moon slid by overhead. It could stop a knife blade without so much as a scratch, and he could lift Hinau as easily as he picked up a seashell. _‘Yuki Joji’_. That was apparently his name, but it meant nothing to him. What kind of man had he been, to dream of rockets and explosions? Who was this mysterious V3? And how had he gotten a metal arm? Perhaps Hinau and her grandfather were right, and it was best to leave Yuki Joji in the past. He was George now, and Tahiti was his home.

 Or so he had told himself. The idyllic dream of raising Hinau while gathering what they needed from nature vanished when Marshal Armor emerged from the sea to terrorize them. He had reclaimed his name and his fate, but at what cost? Interpol hadn’t arrested him, saying only that Destron had been defeated and leaving him to make his own plans for the future. As for Kazami Shiro, all they told him was that he was no longer in Japan.

 Joji set a stack of boards on the ground before going to get another load, getting a smile from Hinau’s grandfather as they passed each other. The sounds of construction filled the air, mixing with Hinau’s laughter as she played nearby. For now, he would stay and rebuild what Marshal Armor had destroyed. They were rumours of gang activity on Tahiti, and he resolved to check it out before making his way back to Japan. Hopefully, it was only normal criminal activity and nothing more serious.

 - - -

He sat with Kazami in his living room over a year later, sipping tea and grateful to be back in Tokyo.

 “So you’ve been in Tahiti all this time. I thought you died when the rocket exploded,” Kazami said, shifting in his seat and examining Jojo closely. They had both changed during their time apart, but he had a feeling it was for the better.

 “I thought dying in order to save everyone was the right thing to do at the time. The universe had other plans, it seems.” They smiled at each other, Joji settling deeper into the couch.

 “I’m glad you survived, Yuki. The world needs more people like you.” He flushed at Kazami’s words, staring down into his tea to hide his embarrassment. His feelings for Kazami hadn’t faded, in fact they had only grown stronger the longer they had been apart.

 “I’m glad to see you again,” he said at last, unsure how to swing the conversation towards his thoughts, or even if he should. “I heard you were travelling?”

 “Yes. I went through most of Asia looking for remnants of Destron. I found a few scattered outposts, but it seems like most of the organization collapsed when I defeated their leader.” Kazami looked serious, and paused to drink some tea before adding, “Then I decided to come back to Japan, and that’s when I found out about GOD. We Riders can never rest while there is evil in the world.”

 “I agree.” He had discovered a nest of Shocker agents in Tahiti, and dealing with them had delayed his return to Japan. He had left some political chaos in his wake, but that wasn’t his concern and he knew that others would deal with that. Glancing around the room to gather his thoughts, he saw the moon shining through a window and suddenly remembered a classic form of confessing one’s love.

 “Since we never know when we might die, isn’t it best that we live life to the fullest?” he suggested, looking at Kazami.

 “Yes,” the other Rider agreed with a nod. “For so long, I was bent on revenge and cared little for my own life so long as I defeated Destron before I died. But slowly, I changed, and by the time I met you, I was fighting for justice.”

 Joji smiled, remembering how Kazami had urged him to give up his quest for revenge. He had resisted long and hard, but Kazami’s words and actions had eventually won him over. The lies of his adoptive father still haunted him, and he was all the more resolved to atone for his sins. “I fight for justice now as well, thanks to you. Hopefully, I can continue to do it by your side.”

 Kazami looked startled at his words, and Joji got up and went over to the window and gazed up at the moon. It was nearly full, he noted, hearing Kazami follow him. “I would like to fight alongside you as well,” he said, sounding puzzled.

 Joji took a deep breath, readying himself for what was to come. “Perhaps we will fight under the moon sometime. It’s certainly beautiful tonight.”

 “Yuki, you-” Kazami cut himself off and was silent for a while. Joji kept his gaze fixed on the moon, trying not to let his thoughts run wild.

 “Yes, it’s very beautiful,” Kazami said at last. Joji tensed slightly as a hand slid into his left hand – his _human_ hand – and squeezed gently. His heart was pounding wildly, and he wondered if Kazami’s enhanced senses could pick it up. “What did the moon look like in Tahiti?”

 “It was golden as it rose out of the sea,” Joji said softly, recalling the warm nights spent there, the sound of the waves always in his ears. “It looked bigger than it does here. I’ll show it to you someday.” He had promised Hinau he would return, and he was certain Kazami would love her.

 “I’d like that,” Kazami replied, his breath warm on his neck. “It’s late and we have an early start tomorrow.” Joji nodded in agreement, and allowed himself to be pulled away from the window and towards the door leading upstairs. It may be late, but he suspected neither of them would sleep for a while yet.

 

 


End file.
